4 ms·
So what, other than language, prevents somebody from starting only European-wide initiatives and reaping the benefits of the entire European market? I don't me
by bane 11y ago
So what, other than language, prevents somebody from starting only European-wide initiatives and reaping the benefits of the entire European market?
I don't mean to sound like I'm minimizing the language issue, but it is surmountable.
To contradict my devil's advocate question above:
My guess and observation is that the ROI on certain localizations isn't good enough to justify the work needed to make a pan-European go at something. So people pick markets where the ROI will be good: England, Germany, France....maybe Italy, and then it all stops there. Neighboring countries with high ROI demographics usually have speakers of those major languages as a second language and can get by well enough with those offerings. And nobody really targets minor dialects for big offerings.
- mfoy_ 11y agoWell there are also different laws and different cultures to work around. The differences between the laws between states in the U.S. and between countries in Europe are probably orders of magnitude different. Trying to understand all those differences would probably be a lot of overhead that could crush a startup trying to tackle the broader market from the get go.
- jedrek 11y agoBut it's not only language, there are real legal, logistical and cultural differences between countries. You negotiate for content rights in the US, and you have them in the US. Also, by the time you've gotten enough traction in your country, there's a me-too (or a dozen) in your other markets. Look, you're a start up, you're running lean, you're cranking out a MVP - are you really going to invest an extra 40% into trying to get into 3 other markets before you're able to get your head above water?